Woody Allen may have held onto some A-list friendships, but he’s still a polarizing figure in Hollywood, which is a big reason why the 89-year-old has exiled himself and now works as a purely international filmmaker with wife of 27 years, Soon-Yi Previn right there at his side, an insider exclusively dishes to Closer.
“What’s amazing about Woody is that his deep fan base in Europe and connections to the film business over there have allowed him to continue getting films made and distributed on the continent, even as he approaches 90,” says an industry source who has worked on Woody’s Hollywood-backed projects in the recent past.
Woody spent his 89th birthday on November 30 tucked away in relative seclusion in Barcelona, Spain, of all places, and, according to Spanish media, showed up in the city recently with wife Soon-Yi, 54, to film his next movie. The details of the new project aren’t clear, but the controversial writer/director/actor has found success in the country before – notably making his Best Picture-nominated film, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, in Spain.
The octogenarian may have found plentiful funding for his most recent venture in Europe, but according to the insider, “it’s a completely different story among the big studios and decision-makers in Los Angeles.”
Woody, who had once been hailed as one of the greatest New York filmmakers of all time and a champion of relating the Jewish-American experience, fell from grace after being hit with a one-two punch that effectively ended his U.S. career. First, he married his long-time girlfriend Mia Farrow’s adopted daughter, his current wife Soon-Yi, and secondly, he allegedly molested Mia’s daughter, Dylan, when she was seven years old. Woody vehemently denied the allegations, claiming Mia, who is widely assumed to rather understandably hate her ex, engineered the accusations against him.
Over the years, many loyal collaborators and admirers of the director have turned their backs on him, with an ever-expanding list of his former actors and colleagues declaring they’ll never work with him again.
“Nobody in the movie business in L.A. cares about him or his movies anymore,” the source continues, “and the days of major stars like Emma Stone or Joaquin Phoenix taking massive pay cuts just for the chance to work with Woody are completely over.”
Like another embattled director, Roman Polanski, Woody turned toward Europe in order to keep working.
“It’s sad that he’s had to take matters into his own hands,” the insider says, “but Woody has had to make his latest films in Europe because he and his few remaining loyalists know it’s the cleanest and most efficient path to get his them funded and distributed.”
The Annie Hall star has refused to concede any wrongdoing, even after Mia discovered nude Polaroids of her adopted daughter on the fireplace mantle in their home, a move Woody had chalked up to him being a “klutz.”
“I try never to look back,” he wrote in his self-exculpatory memoir, Apropos of Nothing, “I don’t like living in the past.”
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